City on a mission to attract more business.

Amid the clutter of San Gabriel's mini-markets, video stores and pizza joints, Old California rears its head.

The Mission San Gabriel Archangel stands fortress-like in what is otherwise a typical suburban community - surrounded by condominiums, small shops and restaurants.

Established in 1771 by Father Junipero Serra, the San Gabriel Mission became the first outpost of European civilization in the Los Angeles area. Although rebuilt in 1828, it remains one of the oldest buildings in Los Angeles County - and draws tens of thousands of people annually to this city nine miles northeast of downtown.

Yet despite the many visitors to the mission - and the nearly 200,000 who attend plays and other events each year at the nearby 70-year-old San Gabriel Civic Auditorium - merchants and local officials say relatively few stick around to dine or shop in the small but quaint Mission District where both historical structures are located.

"This area has not been promoted as a destination," said Deputy City Manager John Ornelas. "It never took off in terms of vibrancy."

Now they're trying to change that.

The city made cosmetic improvements to Mission Drive four years ago, and is trying to bring in more restaurants and shops to give visitors a reason to stay longer.

"It's not a huge area, but with a few more restaurants, it becomes a destination point for dining," Ornelas said.

At the same time, the city doesn't want national retailers that can be found in any mall and that would detract from the district's distinctive, historical flavor, he said. As a result, city officials are looking for independent restaurants, curio shops, an ice cream parlor and possibly an art movie theater.

The mission, the oldest original mission still used for religious services, is the historical hub of this city of 40,000. The Civic Auditorium, which resembles a mission on the exterior, was erected in 1927 for a play about the rise and fall of the California missions.

Following the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, the mission was closed for six years and the Mission District languished.

It was the reopening of the mission church in 1993 that inspired the district's revitalization. Since then, the city has invested $3.4 million in county, state and federal funds to make Mission Drive more pedestrian-friendly.

Improvements include decorative walkways, palm and pepper trees, old-fashioned street lamps, slanted parking, a parking lot and sidewalk tiles designed by 600 fourth graders from local schools. Mission Drive was narrowed and reconfigured by the mission and an adjacent park expanded. And two shop owners have been given "forgivable loans" to spruce up their property or erect a new building.

The beautification effort won the city a National League of Cities award in 1994 for urban enrichment. And in 1997. San Gabriel was one of six cities statewide to receive a special achievement award from the California Healthy Cities Project.

To further raise the district's visibility, the Chamber of Commerce last year started a weekly "family festival," in which the street is blocked off for a produce and arts-and-crafts market and live music on Saturday nights.

"Our focus is going to be on promoting the Saturday festival and having special events at the festival to increase attendance," said City Manager Mike Paules. "I look at what happened with Old Town Pasadena. That took about 10 years. We've been at this four years and we've made more progress than I expected."

But the job is far from done. Mission Drive is pleasant and inviting enough. but pickings are relatively limited and foot traffic could be greater. There are four dining establishments a coffee house, a Mexican restaurant with mariachi music, a coffee shop and a dell.

"It's been rough," said Florinda Pulciano, who runs Pulciano's Dell & Caffe. "It's beautiful (in the area) but that doesn't pay the bills. You don't have tire traffic you anticipated. We had tunnel vision - there would be busloads of travelers. It hasn't been like that."

The Brave Bull, a Western-style steakhouse with bull heads above the doors. was supposed to be a major attraction, but so far hasn't had a huge clientele, said Mayor Dominic Polimeni.

Pulciano said the dell will be better able to survive when more businesses move in. Currently, there are two vacancies in the five-block area. An old auto repair shop is being transformed into a pizza restaurant with outdoor seating.

"This was a big one for us, making this happen. It's going to show people it can work here," Ornelas said.

He said four or five more buildings could be converted. The city is looking into bringing in a Laemmle's or Sundance theater, which could possibly be located on sites now occupied by the Masonic Lodge and city recreation department buildings. A Native American museum is also planned.

Councilwoman Mary Cammarano said she sees the district revitalization as about 75 percent completed. She also hopes that the old Southern Pacific railroad tracks in the area can be put below ground level so as not to interfere with auto traffic.

"We're getting there," she said. "Once we have a few more shops and the tracks lowered, it's there."